Apparatus for burning explosive gaseous mixtures.



P. GREELMAN,

lAPPARATUS FOR BURNING BXPLOSIVB GASBOUS MIXTURBS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.8,1913.

L 3, 171. Patented oct. e, 1914.

Inventor:

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comprises a body portion l0, a combustion supporting bed l1 supported against one face of the body. l0, and a supply chamber l2 adjoining another face of the body l0, the body being formed With a plurality of small supply passages 13 extending from the supply 'chamber to deliver the gaseous mixture to the combustion bed. The portion of the body adjacent the combustion bed should be of a suitable material suliciently refractory to withstand the great heat to which Iit 'is subjected and re'erably of low heat conductivity, a suita le cement such as alundum cement being preferably used; and in the preferred construction shown the body is for simplicity and for convenience in manufao ture made of a single molded mass of plastic material extending from the part adjacent to the combustionbed to the supply chamber 12, and preferably inclosed Within a cast or other suitable metal casing l5, which casing maybe extended to form the walls of the supply chamber '12 as shown. The plastic material may be molded-in the casing andbe Wholly of alundum cement or other hig ly refractory material, or the lower part or the body filling, or part farthest away from the combustion space, AWhere the temperature is not so high may bemade of a material which, thou h not so highly refrao tory as the material '.rming the upper part,

is of lower heat conductivity.A For example,Y

in the burner shown in the 'drawings the refractory material above the dotted line :e might be alundum cement or other suitable highly refractory material and the part below such dotted line of a material, such as magnesium carbonate, kaolin or asbestos stove lining cement, which is not so hin'hly refractory as the alundum cement but `is 'a better non-copductor of heat.E The supply chamber is provided with a suitable cleanout opening normally closed by a screw plug 16, and is supplied with the explosive gaseous mixture through an inlet pipe l? leading from any suitable source of supply.

The combustion bed il in-the preferred form of burner illustrated is made up of a mass of broken or other suitable pieces of highly refractory material such as alundum, chrome ore or magnesite, or even fire-brick Where a gas of low heating power is to be burned. The ieces or granules otr-etractory material Iorming the bed may be bonded together in any suitable manner or a bed of loose unbonded pieces or granules may be used. Vhen the bed -formed of loose pieces of refractory material', suitable means Will be provided for retaining the same in position. The body is conveniently'formed with a recess in its face to receive and hold in place the pieces of refractory material forming the bed, and When the burner to be used in an upright position as shown with the bed supported in a horizontal position or in the upper face of the body 10,' no

additional means will Aordinarily be needed to hold the material of the bed in place.. The.

bed may be of any superficial size and of' Various thicknesses, and the size of the pieces? or granules of refractory material composing the bed will vary of the bed and especially its depth or thickness'. y

The particular' form 'of burner illustrated is intended primarily' for use as a cook stove burner, and with such a burner` itis espe*- cially desirabler tha-t the temperature of4 the bed may be raised to the desired maximum intensity in av minimum length of time. lt is desirable, therefore, that the bed shall be comparatively thin or'shallow, and in order that a suitable distributionvof the mixture supplied to such bed may be' obtained it becomes desirable that the supply passages shall be in greater Anumber than would be required to'secure the proper distribution for a bed of greater thicxness, each passage being of comparatively smaller size than it would be desirable to use with a bed of greater thickness and the mixture being sometimes supplied with a velocity' not so greatly in excess of the rate -of propagation of inflammation' as would usually be cmployed with a thicker bed. Withsuch a construction, therefore, the prevention of 'heat conduction from the combustion bed backV gaseous mixture is sup liedkto the chamber l2 and maintained un er such lpressm'e in the chamber that the mixture flows through the supply passages with a velocity in excess or the rate` of propagation'of inlami'hationv of the mixture, as the mixture passes'from the supply passages into the porous and permeable combustion bed, it is caused to spread out and advance in increasing volume and with rapidly decreasing' velocity, so that its velocity is reduced to the rate of. propagation of inflammation within the limits of the bed. The mixture having been ignited, the surface or zone of combustion will then locate Within or at the surface of the bed at the zone or surface Where equality between the How velocity and the rate of propagation of inflammation is attained. The combustion being extremely intense, the

according to the sizev sin pieces or refractory material forming the combustion bed will be qulckly raised. to, and

thereafter maintained at, a ve'ry high temperature, so that the bed becomes highly incandescent' and the heat generated by the combustion becomes available not only by conduction through the escaping products or combustionthe temperature of which will be very high, but also toa very large degree leo 'such paths olot'v of heat should depend solely upon or even at all upon the relative lengths osueh paths.

Making the lower portion ofthe body, or the portion farthest away from the combustion zone, of material which is a better nonconductor of heat than the highly refractory material nearer the combustion zone, as'hereinbefore described, has the advantage of affording some additional protection against the conduction of heat to the supply chamber because of the insulating propert of the material forming the lower part 0 the body and also to some extentprobably because of the greater rela-tive Aresistance offered to iiow of heat toward the supply chamber result-ing from the transverse stratifit-ation of the body. t should be observed, however, that my burner structure does not depend upon the use of mediaset-conducting material. to prevent the transmission of heat through the structure to the supply chamber, or place where the mixture is moving with a velocity lessl than the rate of propagation or' inflammation of the mixture. It is desirable, however, to make use of highly refractory material because of the extremely high temperature to Which it is subjected, and it is also of advantage that such material be of low heat conductivity principally in order to lessen the loss of heat by conduction throl` h the burner body.

y The mixture may e supplied 'to the supply chamber 12 from anv suitable source ver means of supply. As s own', a mixture ofv a suitable fuel gas and air is supplied by means of a fan 2O delivering into the pipe l?, the fan dra wing the gas through a pipe 21 leading from any suitable source and air through an inlet pipe 22. The gas supply pipe 2l and air inlet pipe 22 are provided with suitable controlling valves 23 and 24 respectively by which the proportionate amounts of gas fan to be by it supplied to the 4burner be controlled. These valves thus serve to control the relative proportions of gestand air in the mixture, and might be used to control the total amount of mixture suppliedv to the burner. The amountof mixture lis better controlled, however, by controllingr the speed of the fan or by a Vvalve in the supply pipe 17 :1s-shown at. 25. The proper proportions yof 'fuel gas and air, or combustion supporting gas, that is, proportions such according to the nature of the constituent gases that the gaseous mixture suppliedto the burner shall have the property-r .of self-propagation of'inflammation, and

the proper amount of mixture to be supplied to maintain the necessary or desired pressure in the chamber 12 of the burner, may be readily determined by experiment.

'llhe highest temperature will of course be generated by a mixture in which the fuel and air drawn into the may ucts may be obtained, the fuel gas which is not consumed Within the combustion bed then burning beyond the bed with the aid of oxygen subsequently supplied thereto from the atmosphere or'otherwise. In all cases, however, the excess of any constituent of the mixture, must not be suflicient to make the mixture non-explosive.

ln order to avoid interference with. the flow ot' r y-asserts mixture from the supply passages by pieces or granules of a oombustion hed such as shown. the face of the burner body adyacent which the combustion bed rests is formed with grooves 35 extending from the ends of the passages, as shown,v

for example, in Figs. l and 2'.` These grooves pro-vide for free escape of the-gaseous mixture from each, passage even 'though a piece or granule of the combustion bed Ymight be located directly againstv thekoutlet end of the passage so that except orthe grooves the lowof mixture from the passage would he more or less blocked.

As before stated, the particular burner illustrated in the drawings is intended primarily to be used as arcook stove burner or for otherfsimilar purpose for which it may be found suitable, and as being most convenient for this purpose the burner is made round in cross-section so as to provide a round topped burner. Obviously, however the burner might be made to provide a. head portion, or part adjacentto which the combustion takes place, of other sui-table desired shape and the structure gmight then` be of corresponding shape in cross-section. l

Even when the burner is to be used with the combustion bed in a horizontal position, Whether as a cook stove or for other purpose, it may sometimes be desirable to provide a cover to extend over the combustion bed. ln Figs. 3, t and 5 I have shown a flat cover 30 intended especially for a cook stove burner. The cover 30 of perforated or skelet on construction to permit the pas ol' the products ot' combustion and radi'antheat, and to avoid warping and crac-,hing is made up of a plurality of concentric bands or rings 3l formed to seat one within another. round to it over a round topped burner and the sections 3l are ot' annular i'orrn, but the shape of the cover will obviously be varied to suit the shape of the burner. Each section may be removed independently of As shown.v the cover is l .5.'An apparatus for burning explosive gaseous mixtures comprising in combination a structure providing a. combustion chamber; mixture supply chamber adjacent the combustion chamber, and a body between said chambers shaped with heat discharging sides slanting outwardly in the direction from the supply chamber tothe combustion.

y therein leading from the supply chamber to a structure providing a mixture supply the combustion chamber 'and spreading apart in the direction from the supply chamber to the combustion chamber, means for maintaining a supply of the explosive mixture in the supply chamber under pressure sufficient to cause the mixture to ovv through the supply passages with a velocity greater than the rate of propagation of inflammation through the mixture, and means within the combustion chamber for reducing the flow velocity of the mixture.

.6. An apparatus for burning explosive gaseous mixtures comprising in combinatibn a structure providing a combustion charnber, a mixture supply chamber adjacent the combustion chamber, and a body between said chambers having a plurality of mixture' supply passages leading trom the supply chamber to the combustion chamber, said passages'spreading apart in the direction from the supply chamber to the combustion chamber, and said body 'being shaped with outwardly slanting heat dischargliigside walls conforming substantially to the outer passages to'provide a path of less resistance tothe flow of heat from any point adjoining.

thecombustion chamber to a heat discharging'surface of seid body than the path through-.said body from such point to the supply chamber, means for maintaining a supply of the'explosive mixture in the supply chamber under .pressure sucient to cause the mixture toiiow through the sup- .y vply passages .With a .velocity greater than the rate of propagation of inflammation through the mixture, and means Withinlthe combustion chamber for reducing the ovv velocity of the mixture.

7; An apparatus for burning explosive gaseous mixtures comprising in combination chamber and a body having a plurality of supply passages for the How ofthe explosive mixture from the supply chamber, said passages opening through a face of the body .removed from the supply chamber, means foi-"maintaining al supply of the explosive mixturein-.the supply chamber under pressare suiicient to cause themixture to dow through the supplylpassagea with a velocity 'greater than the ratejof propagation of iniammation of the mixture, and means for reducing the loW velocity of the mixture 'issuing from said supply passages, said body having a heat discharging surface and being formed to provides ath of less resistance to the dow of heatY om any point adjoining the face oa-the body adjacent to which the combustion takes Aplace to a heat discharging surface thereof than the path through said body from such point to the supply chamber.

8. A burner for burning explosive gaseous lmixtures embodying therein a structure prosnpply chamber adjacent the combustion `heat discharging .Walls which slant outso `riding a combustion chamber, a mixture wardly in the direction from the supply chamber to the combustion chamber to provide a path of less resistance to the iiovv of heat from any point adjoining the combus-l tionchamfber to a heat discharging surface of said body than the path through said body from such point to the supply,chain-- 'ber and having` a plurality ci' straight mix` ture supply .passages therein leading from the supply chamber to the'combustion chamber and spreading radially in the direction fromthe supply chamber to the combustion chamber, the outwardly slanting Walls ofthe body being closely adjacent to the outer supply passages, and means Within the .come lbustion chamber for reducinlv the iiow -velocity of the explosive mixture.

9. A burner for burning explosivegaseous .mixtures embodying therein a porous and permeable combustion bed of loose pieces oi` 1 eractory material, and a structure providing a mixture supply chamber adjacent the combustion bed and a body between the combustion bed and the supply chamber and against which the combustion bed is supported, said body having a heat discharging Wall and having a plurality of mixture supply passages therein leading from the supplyv chamber to the combustion bed and spaced apart a greater distance at their delivery ends than at their supply, chamber endsyaud said body being formed to provide` a path of -ous mixtures embodying therein a body hav-v ing a face ormed\vith a recess to receive a porous and permeable combustion'bed ci loose pieces of refractory material. a mixture supply chamber adjoining the body, the body .having .a plurality of supply passages thereiner .the .,iowmf the explosivemixture Iy disposefgorous andperof nfiammation through the mixture, and

meah, n m heath a, humerlbody by a perforated cover resting on the burner which me ummm Dod. 1s supported and body. whlcn 1s torn ed mib a plurahty of supply In ,testlmony whereof I have hereunto set 5 paQsages 'for fupplyhlg the gasoous mixture my hand in the presence of two subscribing I5 to the comhuwmn modi moans for supplymg Wltnesses.

.the explosive o ze to said passages un FRANK JREELMAN. e1? pressure ..cw l? to cause the mlxture Wltnesses: izo-move hrr. sho passages wlth a ve- 3V` S. CALDWEIL,

am @he mi@ of propagation AfL. KENT. 

